Página principalTypeType Font Dictionary

Glossary of Typography Terms

The largest illustrated database of typography terms and definitions

TypeType Font Dictionary is a guide containing the definitions of typographic terminology from our articles and other font-related content. Diving a little deeper into the language of typography will give you a better understanding of specialized information sources and make you feel more comfortable with fonts.

Remember, there is no standardized type terminology in the font market. The definitions you will see here are the result of the collective expertise of TypeType specialists over many years, and we believe them to be the most accurate.

Additional stroke

A stroke that is neither primary nor connecting (for example, horizontal elements of the letter "E").
Additional stroke

Antiqua

(serif typeface)—a high-contrast font with serifs.
Antiqua

Aperture

A degree of openness in a character. Aperture can be open or closed. The letter "C" provides the simplest example to grasp the concept of aperture: more straight/horizontal terminals indicate an open aperture and more curved/vertical terminals mark a closed aperture.
Aperture

Apex

The intersection point of two strokes (both diagonal or one vertical and one diagonal) at the top of certain letters ("A", "M").
Apex

Arc

A bow-shaped element standing on two stems.
Arc

Arm

Upward diagonal stroke.
Arm

Ascender

A lowercase letter element that goes over x-height.
Ascender

Axis

An imaginary line passing through the thinnest parts of the rounded characters. The slant angle is calculated in relation to the vertical. It is determined by the tradition of contrast distribution based on the movement of the writing tool.
Axis

Baseline

A line where font glyphs sit, follows the bottom edge of characters, excluding overhangs and descenders.
Baseline

Basic Latin

A Unicode block including basic characters of Latin-based languages.
Basic Latin

Bézier curve

Mathematically formulated curves used to describe character forms in fonts.
Bézier curve

Bowl

A rounded part of a character that does not form a full circle. It can be open like in the letter "З" or attached to the stem like in the letter "B".
Bowl

Bowl (1)

Part of a circle or rounded glyph element.
Bowl (1)

Bowl (2)

The lower arc of the letters like "Ч", "U", "u".
Bowl (2)

Branch

1) arm/leg; 2) ascender in the Cyrillic letter "б".
Branch

Calligraphy

The art of producing beautiful writing. Calligraphic text is always crafted manually and bears the imprint of the tool.
Calligraphy

Character density

The number of characters accommodated within a line of a given format. Fonts can have higher and lower density.
Character density

Character proportions

The relation between a character’s width and height.
Character proportions

Character set

A collection of all font symbols.
Character set

Connecting stroke

An additional stroke connecting the primary ones. It can be horizontal or diagonal.
Connecting stroke

Contrast

The thickness proportion of main and additional strokes in a font. A font can be no-contrast, low-contrast, medium-contrast, and high-contrast.
Contrast

Contrast sans

A high-contrast Antiqua without serifs.
Contrast sans

Counter

An empty inner part of a glyph; white space inside a glyph.
Counter

Counterform

See Counter.

Cross(bar)

A horizontal, non-primary stroke.
Cross(bar)

Denominators

Smaller forms of lining figures that serve as denominators in fractions.
Denominators

Descender

An element of a character positioned under the baseline (extending past it).
Descender

Descending element

Little legs of the Cyrillic letters "Дд", "Щщ", and "Цц".
Descending element

Diacritical marks

Special symbols influencing (transforming or clarifying) the character’s meaning. They are placed above, below, or sometimes inside letterforms. For example, the dot in "i" is a diacritical mark.
Diacritical marks

Display fonts

Eye-catching, peculiar, and distinctive fonts often used in large point sizes (for example, for headlines).
Display fonts

Double-storey form

A traditional form of the letters "a" and "g" with the construction consisting of upper and lower parts.
Double-storey form

Downstroke

A descending diagonal stroke (for example, the right stroke of the letter "A").
Downstroke

Drop

A modified vertical serif at the end of a terminal. A little vague and less geometric in Old Style serifs, this form resembles a circle or a drop in Didone.
Drop

Dynamic fonts

Fonts characterized by their origins in broad-nib pen calligraphy. They stand out for noticeable proportion dynamics, evident contrast, and open aperture.
Dynamic fonts

Ear

An element positioned at the top right of the lowercase double-storey "g".
Ear

Em-space

In metal typesetting, the flat surface of a letter where a character is positioned. Em-space (digital font) — a rectangle where the character’s contour is positioned. Em-space can be made wider or narrower by increasing or decreasing sidebearings of a glyph.
Em-space

Encoding

A structured collection of font characters. Simply put, this system determines how symbols are represented in the device’s memory and how they are displayed on the screen. Each encoded symbol has a unique number — a code point. Encoding depends on the operating system the font is designed for. There exists a wide variety of encodings, and one of the best-known ones is Unicode.
Encoding

Extended Latin

Unicode blocks consisting of characters based on Latin tradition but not included in the basic Latin block.
Extended Latin

Extrapolation

Automatic (mathematical) generation of intermediate forms extending beyond the two extreme versions. For example, in font development: generation (extrapolation) of the Thin instance (see Instances) with Regular and Bold masters. See also: Interpolation.
Extrapolation

Extreme points

The outermost points on vertical and horizontal axes of rounded elements that form an arc.  
Extreme points

Eye

Counter of the lowercase letter "e".
Eye

Flag

The top horizontal stroke of the figure 5 or the horizontal element in the cursive forms of "v" and "w".
Flag

Font

A collection of symbols united by a common idea: the design of the characters (letters, numbers, punctuation marks) integrated into a cohesive system and a file carrying the complete set of characters (alphabet or non-alphabet symbols) used for typing.
Font

Font editor

Special software for designing and editing digital fonts.
Font editor

Font pair

A combination of two complementary fonts in one mockup. Most often, one font in a pair is used for headlines and conveying the necessary intonation, and the other serves to communicate information.
Font pair

Fonts with dynamic proportions

Fonts with explicit width dynamics. Their proportions are reminiscent of Roman capital scripts or fonts from the Renaissance era.
Fonts with dynamic proportions

Fonts with static proportions

Fonts where characters are designed to have a uniform width, except for the narrowest ones, such as "i" and "l".
Fonts with static proportions

Geometric sans serif typefaces

Fonts intentionally built upon elementary geometric forms (equilateral triangles, squares, circles). Originated in Germany in the 1930s. Their development was influenced by the ideas of constructivism and the Bauhaus design school.
Geometric sans serif typefaces

Grapheme

The idea of the character, its image, and the basic form that sets it apart from other symbols. One character can have several letterforms (for example, uppercase and lowercase, roman and cursive, single-storey and double-storey).
Grapheme

Grotesque

A category uniting the first sans serif typefaces that emerged in the XIX century. These fonts have noticeable contrast and simple forms, and the glyphs tend to have equal widths.
Grotesque

Handwritten font

A manually drawn font that visually resembles a typeset font (typically a title page font). Such fonts are used for designing books, posters, and more. This is a more specific term than Lettering.
Handwritten font

Hinting

The TrueType format font optimization process aimed at achieving maximum readability on computer screens.
Hinting

Hockey stick

The left stroke of the letter "Л", including the terminal.
Hockey stick

Humanist sans serif typefaces

Sans serif fonts with a more pronounced contrast of thick and thin strokes than other Grotesques. They are also characterized by an open aperture and double-storey "a" and "g".
Humanist sans serif typefaces

Inferiors

Smaller forms of lining figures that are used in various formulas and mathematical expressions.
Inferiors

Instances

Font styles that weren’t designed as masters. They are interpolated or extrapolated between the anchor font styles based on specific formulas for determining font family weights.
Instances

Interpolation

Automatic (mathematical) generation of intermediate forms from two extreme versions. For example, in font development: generation (interpolation) of the Demibold instance (see Instances) with Regular and Bold masters.
Interpolation

Italics

(true italics)—historically, this term referred to cursive fonts, but today, it is used in a broader sense and unites true italics and slanted fonts. These are fonts where letterforms transform to acquire a cursive shape. Italics can be created as independent fonts, not only as an addition to roman font styles. Such fonts are typical for serif typefaces.
Italics

Junction

The point where the bowl or arc smoothly joins the stem.
Junction

Kerning

Targeted increase or reduction of the interval between two characters determined by the combination of their forms. Kerning is needed to achieve a perfectly even, uniform typesetting.
Kerning

Leg

Downward diagonal stroke in letters like "K", "R", "Я", "Ж”.
Leg

Letter

1) Sort/Type — a block usually made of type metal or wood with a typographic character protruding on one of the sides, making it possible to print the symbol onto a surface through stamping (print); 2) Glyph/Character — in general terms, any symbol in the font.
Letter

Lettering

A hand-crafted type. Unlike calligraphy, lettering doesn’t bear the imprint of an instrument. There are numerous ways of designing letters for such fonts: they can be drawn, cut out, sculpted, etc.
Lettering

Letterspace

(aprosh)—the distance between the letter’s edge and the em-square’s edge. Letterspace can be both positive and negative. The semi-aproshes (sidebearing) of two adjacent characters form one aprosh.
Letterspace

Ligature

(from Latin 'ligare' meaning 'to bind' or 'to connect')—a character (symbol) formed by merging two or more letters. The original purpose of the ligature is to create a harmonious configuration of letters that intersect if not enclosed in a ligature. Today, ligatures are often used for decorative purposes.
Ligature

Lining (majuscule) figures

Figures that do not contain ascenders or descenders and are equal or similar in height to uppercase characters. They are often included in fonts by default.
Lining (majuscule) figures

Loop

An enclosed descender of the letter "g".
Loop

Lowercase

Small letters in a font. They are used for typing running text.
Lowercase

Masters

Anchor font styles designers handcraft in font editing software supporting the variability technology.
Masters

Metrics

Technical specifications integrated into the font file that describe spacing, kerning, and other glyph parameters.
Metrics

Modern serif typefaces

(Didone)—a category of fonts with static proportions exhibiting glyphic nature, with their design grounded in construction rather than handwriting. These fonts developed their appearance through the extensive use of pointed-nib pens and metal engraving techniques. Modern Antiquas stand out for their high contrast, thin and symmetrical serifs, no dynamics, and vertical oval axis.
Modern serif typefaces

Monospaced fonts

Fonts with the same width of em-square in all characters. Traditionally, such fonts are used for coding and filling out tables; however, modern typography also uses them for various purposes.  
Monospaced fonts

Monospaced serifs

Ultra-wide serifs that compensate for the width of an em-space of narrow characters in monospaced fonts. Monospaced serifs are typical for characters like "i", "l", "I", "1".  
Monospaced serifs

Neo-Grotesques

The legacy of Swiss design. Such fonts stand out for their static proportions, minimal or no contrast, squared ovals, and closed apertures.
Neo-Grotesques

Numerators

Smaller forms of lining figures that serve as numerators in fractions.
Numerators

Oblique fonts

Fonts usually designed as a pair to the original roman font style. In this case, letterforms are just slanted but don’t change. Such fonts are typical for sans serifs.
Oblique fonts

Old Style serif typefaces

(Humanist) serif typefaces—serif fonts that emerged and thrived during the Renaissance era. These are dynamic fonts with low contrast, significantly slanted axes of ovals, and asymmetrical, rounded serifs. This font category is classified as ductal, based on the logic of broad-nib pen writing.
Old Style serif typefaces

Old-style (minuscule) figures

Figures containing ascenders and descenders and similar in height to lowercase characters. They are sometimes called text figures because of being traditionally used in running text to make it easier to read. Non-lining figures are usually designed as an additional figure set that can be turned on using the Oldstyle Figures feature.
Old-style (minuscule) figures

OpenType features

(or simply features)—code integrated during font development that allows users to invoke various transformations and use functions (intended by the font designer) in font editing software. For instance, replacing glyph forms with alternates, turning on tabular or minuscule figures, adjusting the punctuation baseline based on the case, etc.
OpenType features

Oval

An enclosed segment of glyphs or glyph parts, forming a circle or ellipse.
Oval

Overhang

An extension of the outline of a circular characters or apex and vertex of the  glyph beyond the baseline or the x-height/cap height line, intended for optical adjustment of the glyphs. Without overhangs, glyphs will seem smaller than the reference letters "Hh" and other upright forms.
Overhang

Pablo Impallari formula

One of the most popular formulas for calculating stem weights for font families.  
Pablo Impallari formula

Pen logic

The foundation for understanding font construction rules and their classification. This is a set of writing rules for various historical handwritings, including the concepts of slant, contrast, and pen movement (pointed-nib or broad-nib).
Pen logic

Point

A unit of measuring font size; a basic unit of typometric system. A point equals approximately 1/72 of an inch. In different metric systems, like American or French, these numerical values may differ.
Point

Point size

Character height, their vertical size. It is measured in typographic points.
Point size

Raster

A grid of pixels (color dots) utilized to display images on output devices.
Raster

Rhythm

A pattern formed by letter spacing and counters and depending on the design of character elements (primarily, stems), their directions and symmetry.
Rhythm

Rounded, rectangular, and triangular characters

Character grouping based on their shape. Rectangular characters are "H", "П", or "F". Rounded characters are "O" or "C", and triangular characters have diagonals like "A", "K", "Y", etc.
Rounded, rectangular, and triangular characters

Sans Serif

Low or no-contrast font without serifs.
Sans Serif

Serif

Short additional lines at the ends of the character’s main strokes, usually perpendicular. Serifs are typical for Antiqua typefaces and slab serifs.
Serif

Shoulder

see Arc.

Single-storey form

A simplified form of the letters "a" and "d" that first appeared in geometric sans serifs and is circle-based.
Single-storey form

Slab, slab serif

A font with large, bulky serifs. Slabs are characterized by minimal or no contrast compared to standard serifs.
Slab, slab serif

Small caps

Character forms that feature the graphics of uppercase letters but are reduced in height and weight. These forms are often a little higher than the lowercase characters, but according to the Latin tradition, they may have the same height as the lowercase characters. Small caps are used in abbreviations or other situations requiring typing running text in uppercase letters.
Small caps

Spacing

A general term for a set of all horizontal intervals around each glyph in a font: sidebearing and kerning settings. Spacing can be tight or loose.
Spacing

Spine

The central curved stroke of the Latin letter "s" and related glyphs.
Spine

Spur

A small extension, forming the part of the stem at the junction point in some forms of letters like "G" or "d".
Spur

Spurless junction

The opposite of the intersection with a spur existing in some forms of letters like "G" or "b".
Spurless junction

Static fonts

Fonts characterized by their origins in pointed-nib pen writing. They feature high contrast and less dynamic proportions (all letters tend to be equal in width, with a straight oval axis). Such fonts usually have narrower glyph proportions than dynamic ones. The glyphs visually move towards uniform width, the aperture is closed.
Static fonts

Stem

The key dominant vertical (or diagonal) stroke.
Stem

Stress

The maximum thickening area of the arc in round characters or rounded elements.
Stress

Stroke ending

See Terminal.

Style

Visual characteristic of a font. Within one font style, all characters are designed with consistent weight and width or, for instance, are all slanted. So, a font family can include different font styles united by one particular trait, and a typeface unites different subfamilies.  
Style

Stylistic alternates

Alternate glyph forms integrated into a typeface. For example, the basic font character set may include a double-storey "a", whereas a single-storey "a" will be in the set of stylistic alternates. Alternate characters can be turned on in OpenType features.
Stylistic alternates

Subfamily

A font set inside the typeface that is united stylistically by slant, weight, width, etc.
Subfamily

Superiors

Smaller forms of lining figures used for footnotes and mathematical expressions.
Superiors

Tabular figures

A set of figures with equal em-spaces (can also be called monospaced). They are designed in different letter cases and used for easy table filling.
Tabular figures

Tail

Curved descender of letters like "Q" or "y".
Tail

Terminal

A straight or curved stroke ending. 
Terminal

Test words

Non-existent words НОБЕЛЬФАЙК (or КИБЕРНОСУФА) and HANDGLOVES traditionally used by font designers at the start of the font development because these words contain the majority of style-defining font features.
Test words

Text typefaces

Simple and neutral fonts without excessive details. They are easy to read and suitable for typing running text.
Text typefaces

Transitional serif typefaces

Are named so because, historically and graphically, they transition from Old Style to Modern Antiquas. It is generally accepted that Transitional serifs appeared in the middle of the 18th century. Visually, the Transitional serifs have a more refined, contrasting, and hand-drawn style compared to the Old Style serifs.
Transitional serif typefaces

Type, Font, Typeface

A font used for typing text with a printing press or computer and can be both text and display. Opposite of lettering.
Type, Font, Typeface

Typeface

(font family)—a collection of fonts united by certain characteristics (stylistic and technical). Fonts with varying styles (roman, italic, light, bold, etc.) can form part of the same typeface.
Typeface

Unicode

An international character encoding standard that supports the majority of the world’s writing systems, including their non-alphabetic symbols. Unicode provides a unique number for every character.
Unicode

Uppercase

Capitals in a font. Uppercase letters are used for the beginning of sentences, proper nouns, geographical names, etc.
Uppercase

Upstroke

An ascending diagonal stroke (for example, the left stroke of the letter "A").
Upstroke

Vertex

The intersection point of two strokes (both diagonal or one vertical and one diagonal) at the bottom of certain letters like "V" or "W".
Vertex

Vertical serif

A serif at the end of the horizontal elements of the characters like "E" or "T" and terminals of characters like "C", "S", etc. In some fonts, vertical serifs of lowercase characters transform into drops (characters like "a" or "c").
Vertical serif

Visual compensations

Graphic techniques used to correct undesired effects that may appear in fonts in particular use scenarios (for example, when printing or typing in a small point size). One of the popular methods is thinning certain glyph elements in bold font styles.
Visual compensations

Waist

An imaginary line passing through the optical center of a character. It can be high or low, depending on the font type and style.
Waist

Weight

Character element thickness in relation to the height. Fonts can be light (e.g., Thin or Light font styles) and bold/dark (e.g., Bold or Black font styles).
Weight

X-height

A determined height parameter of lowercase letters within one font, excluding overhangs.
X-height